Fit Mother Hubbard's 3 Staple Family Meals

Guest Blogger
September 22, 2014

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Keeping the whole family happy at meal times can be a real chore. There is always someone that wont eat this and someone that wont eat that. It's time to take control of your kitchen and ensure that your restaurant is only open once - at meal times!

We all live busy lives and one of the main challenges that families face is finding quick, healthy meals that the whole family will enjoy. I cannot stress how important it is to ensure that your diet is varied on a regular basis. By this, I mean eating from a variety of food groups each day. If this is done correctly and within moderation, the risk of chronic disease is reduced dramatically.

Here are three simple meals that will helpkeep the whole family satisfied.

Spaghetti Bolognaise (serves 4 – a favourite in this house!)

A perfect carbohydrate meal for active families

Ingredients

1 onion

1 carrot

1 stick of celery

2 cloves of garlic

1kg quality mince (beef, chicken or pork)

1 tin of chopped tomotoes

1 jar of passata

1 cup of fresh parsley chopped

½ cup of fresh basil

1 tbs of mixed dried herbs

1 tbs vegeta (vegetable stock)

1 litre of beef stock (home made is best)

3 bay leaves

1 tbs salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp brown sugar

2 tbs olive oil

Method

Heat oil in a fry pan on med/high heat.

Fry onion, garlic, carrots, celery until brown.

Add mince and cook until brown.

Add tin of tomatoes and passata.

Slowly add stock.

Add mixed herbs, vegeta, bay leaves, salt, pepper.

Simmer for 30 minutes then add parsley and basil.

Simmer for a further 30 minutes then add a tsp raw sugar to neutralise the tomatoes.

Serve with your favourite pasta. quick tip For something a little lighter, why not try zucchini noodles cut with a julienne peeler. It is just as tasty and leaves you feeling more than satisfied!

Cauliflower Fried Rice (serves 4)

A great, tasty way to get the kids to eat their veggies!

Ingredients

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 tsp of ginger (grated)

1 whole cauliflower

4 slices of bacon

1 zucchini chopped

1 carrot chopped

1 cup of broccoli

1 cup of snow peas

2 tbsp coriander leaves

1 egg

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp lightly salted soy sauce

2 tbsp mirin seasoning

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp pepper

Method

Grate the cauliflower and set aside in a bowl

Heat pan and fry onion, garlic and ginger

Add bacon and cook for 2 minutes

Once brown, add cauliflower and stir for a few minutes until cauliflower is soft (heat should be medium)

Add chopped vegetables and coriander (note –you can use whichever vegetables you have in the fridge

Add soy sauce, mirin seasoning, salt and pepper

Cook for 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are soft

In another fry pan, cook egg tilting so that it covers the whole pan. Cook for 2 minutes then place egg on chopping board and slice into 1cm pieces.

Method

Heat coconut oil in a wok and add vegetables. Cook for 3 minutes until vegetables are soft. Set aside.

Add chicken or prawns or pork to wok and cook for approximately 8 minutes.

Add vegetables

Add 1 tablespoon of arrowroot flour or 2 tbsp wholemeal flour

Add oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar and salt

Beat eggs with a fork and place into separate pan. Make a quick omelette, remove and cut into strips.

Add egg to spring roll mix

Roll mixture into rice paper rolls and serve with vegetable sticks such as cucumber or carrot

Perfect for a Spring afternoon lunch

(You can alternate the rice paper with spring roll wraps found in the frozen supermarket section. Simply defrost for 30 minutes and once the filling is in, fry until golden brown)

Dip into sweet chilli sauce and enjoy.

Coconut oil hot temperature tips

Coconut oil is solid in it's consistency so before cooking with it, you need to heat it. Melt using a low heat. If it comes into contact with cold foods, it may harden again so warm the foods first before mixing in the coconut oil.